jesam

Jesam for Emphasis

Level 3

Jesam, jesi, jeste, jesmo and jesu answer a question with biti: Jesi li umoran? Jesam.

How It Works

The short answers are the long forms of biti.

PersonForm
jajesam
tijesi
on, ona, onojeste (older: jest)
mijesmo
vijeste
onijesu

The negative answers are nisam, nisi, nije, nismo, niste and nisu.

These forms answer a question. You rarely use them inside a normal sentence. To stress a statement, add one after it: Umoran sam, jesam! (I really am tired!). In ordinary sentences, you still use the short forms sam, si and je.

Compare: Jesi li gladan? Jesam. means I am hungry, and Jesi li gladan? Nisam. means I am not.

Examples (5)

  1. Jesi li umoran? Jesam.

    Are you tired? Yes, I am.

    Jesam repeats the verb.

  2. Je li kafa vruća? Jeste.

    Is the coffee hot? Yes, it is.

    Jeste is the third person answer.

  3. Jesu li djeca u školi? Jesu.

    Are the children at school? Yes, they are.

    Jesu answers for they.

  4. Jesmo li stigli? Jesmo.

    Have we arrived? Yes, we have.

    Jesmo answers for we.

  5. Jeste li gladni? Nismo.

    Are you hungry? No, we are not.

    Nismo is the negative answer for we.

Common Mistakes

  • Sam alone is used as an answer.

    Jesi li umoran? Sam.
    Jesi li umoran? Jesam.

    The short sam cannot stand alone as an answer. Use the long form jesam.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

jesamLevel 3Jesam for Emphasis

Learn This First

Jesam is the emphatic form of biti.

Words in This Pattern

biti